T40 with SATA SSD and SATA->IDE bridge anyone?

[jiopsi]

Has anyone tried if SATA SSD works fine with T40, T41 or T42 and with SATA->IDE caddy? Max. r/w would be capped ofcourse to ~100MBps (IDE100) but that's fine, is there anything else that could be a problem?

My setup would be, T40 with IBM branded Sata->IDE bridge caddy and A-data XPG 32GB SATAII 2.5" 170/100MBps SSD.

[jiopsi]

Nobody tried?

[lophiomys]

Looking at the 1.8" Intel X18-M I have tried to find an IDE 44-pin adapter,
but couldn't find one.
I've contacted several manufacturers about this and did not get any positive answer.

Some links to what I was looking so far:
http://cooldrives.stores.yahoo.net/2sahadrtoide.html .... so we see its possible but too big for the 2.5" pata laptop slot
http://en.esskabel.de/adapter/datasheet ... 25-case/77 ... that would be it, but has the wrong (zif) plug inside
http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/produc ... ectID=5409 ... again, but CF inside

the problem so far is, getting the sata-ide bridge inside the PATA slot
an option would be to take the smaller 1.8" SSD and build the sata-ide bridge around it,
the other option would be to buy a Transcen/SuperTalent/Mtron SSD with PATA interface.

I personally would stronly prefer the Intel SATA SSDs X18/X25 because those combine the best energy efficency
with best performance (especially IPOS), whereby offering at least 80GB.

Maybe you could also send a candiate manufacturer of your joice an email,
so that they know that there would actually be a market worth producing for.

The very last option for me would be that Lenovo would build an
T62p or X300 or T400 or T500 with an IPS/Flexview LCD in 4:3 format,
comprising a classic keyboard without Windows keys,
non sticking out long lasting battery and
no audio jacks at the front.
SCNR

[aaa]

I think he's talking about the far simpler Ultrabay solution, which should work easily. There is a post or two where people used the SATA Ultrabay HD caddy with T42 and before, I believe there is just some piece of plastic sticking out that has to be removed for it to fit.

[lophiomys]

ooops. caught too much in my own thoughts.

[jiopsi]

Yeah, I was talking about the Ultrabay solution, I have IBM branded caddy. And the question was more like, is there somekind of issues, with SATA->IDE bridge and SSD, like corrupting etc.

I don't really need cutting edge SSD or big capacity (about 8GB is fine). Just would like to get rid of my 22MBps and super noisy 40GN drive. =D And batterylife also wouldn't hurt.

[Binh]

I am interesting in this question too. I have a SATA caddy (Chinese OEM) and it works fine with SATA harddrive in my T41, T42p. And I am wondering if there is any problem to set SSD drive in it.

[ninjaronin18]

Really interested in this question too. It sounds like I want to do the same thing as you. Put a SSD drive inside a t40. How would one do it using the ultrabay adapter option?

[sjthinkpader]

There is no reason why it would not work. The question is really why do you want to do that after spending $200+ on a SSD.

If you are interested in a SSD, then it may be time to update to a T60. You will get proper support for Windows7 and TRIM.

[eyestrain]

SSD can be had for under $100 sometimes. Even the Kingston SSDnow, I've seen as low as around $75 after rebate.

I can understand not wanting to move from T4x to T6x. I'm typing this from a T60p, with a pretty nice keyboard. But I prefer my R51, similar to a T42. The old Thai keyboard and mouse (trackpoint) are so much better, that it is just a better experience overall.

Someone who wants to keep their T4x might be happy to spend $100+ to upgrade it, even if a T60 could be had for less than that!


I'm using CF-IDE adapters in ultrabays in most of my thinkpads instead of hard drives. "Real" SSD are faster, will eventually get around to using them, at least in one or two computers.

[sjthinkpader]

That is if you don't need more that 30GB, Windows7 TRIM support and all the elements of a real SSD. Many of the SSDs with JMICRON controllers could be less than $100 but why would you want one? Just look at reports of stuttering, slow writes, early failures.

[eyestrain]

Kingston SSDnow is a rebranded Intel.

Also there was a good deal on an OCZ recently which people said had good performance, even without supporting Trim, or having the latest controller.

A quick search on Froogle shows "SSDnow" can be had under $150 easily in US for 64GB. With patience and effort, especially if willing to go smaller, then can be cheaper, without having to ever consider Jmicron.

I don't recall, but something like 16 or even 8 gb I think might be enough for a win7 os drive, if you have a second drive available for data and maybe apps. I go much smaller than that, but don't do 7 yet.

During install need 30gig available IIRC, but not to run.

[sjthinkpader]

Only the intel G2, Kingston V+ and later Samsung SSDs support Windows 7 TRIM at this point. They are not being discounted yet. Without TRIM, the SSD will only get slower and slower as it gets filled up with dirty free space. (see Oct 17 post):
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... &start=750

There is really no point in getting a fast SSD and waste it on a IDE-SATA bridge. A T60 is only a little over $200 now. For a T4x, a Transcend PATA SSD works fine (see Apr 15 post below) and they are generally available around $100 or so. I picked up my copy at $75 without rebate:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 1&start=60

[eyestrain]

Here's the kind of thing I'm talking about:

http://www.frys.com/product/6195949

Kingston part# SNV125-S2BD/30GB
SSDNow V Series Drive
***bundle includes: Acronis® True Image HD™ system cloning software, USB enclosure and cable. Desktop bundle includes Acronis® True Image HD™ system cloning software, mounting brackets and cables

Price: $ 99.99
After Rebate: $69.99

For 30gb that's $70+less than $10 shipping, after rebate, in U.S., and they even throw in a version of Acronis, and a USB enclosure. It's a desktop bundle, but it's a 2.5" drive, so you should be OK, but please check first. Maybe you just get extra unneeded parts to convert 2.5 to 3.5.

This drive was/maybe still is made by Intel, and had/probably still has good performance. (pls research before buying) I would guess, better than any existing Pata ssd, even if you put it through the bridge. And best of all, if you ever do decide to "upgrade" from your beloved and supposedly obsolete computer you can take the SSD with you.

I haven't looked into the problem yet of degrading performance as a drive fills, but I'm sure there's workarounds, such as storing most data elsewhere, using compression, etc, so don't need to use much of the drive. There's even ways to avoid having to write to the drive often... but would be nice to not have to use too many tricks like that.

My setups are primitive CF and I just go to the extreme of avoiding writes on the main drive much as I can.

[sjthinkpader]

SNV425 supports TRIM and not SNV125. 30GB is only enough for a browser machine today. That's why it is on sale.

Don't get me wrong. I have plenty of 32GB SSDs without TRIM support in use, but not in main machines. I think at least 64GB will be needed. That's what we buy in our new X200s' for the office.

[jihe]

Only the intel G2, Kingston V+ and later Samsung SSDs support Windows 7 TRIM at this point. They are not being discounted yet. Without TRIM, the SSD will only get slower and slower as it gets filled up with dirty free space. (see Oct 17 post):
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... &start=750

There is really no point in getting a fast SSD and waste it on a IDE-SATA bridge. A T60 is only a little over $200 now. For a T4x, a Transcend PATA SSD works fine (see Apr 15 post below) and they are generally available around $100 or so. I picked up my copy at $75 without rebate:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 1&start=60

I thought the indilinx drives also has trim?

[4ckatro]

Hi!
i want to buy an sata hdd to my T42. And i found this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

Does it works with t42?
Cos someone write HDD adapter For ThinkPad T60 doesnt work with t42, but the seller write in the discription it will work.
So?

[lukee]

4ckatro: I am not sure if this UltraBay adapter works in T42. Dimensions will fit, but T42s hasn't SATA controller as instead T43s machines has.

[ajkula66]

I'll check it out when I return home (in about 16 hrs or so), never occurred to me to test it in a T42...will keep you posted....

[bob_pendleton]

I doubt anyone is still looking to put an SSD drive into their old T40, but on the off chance that there's another person looking to do this, here's how I just put a new Kingston 90GB SSD drive in my T40. I'm amazed at how fast and responsive this old laptop is with this new drive.

First, I purchased one of these "Mini 7+15 Pin Female SATA HDD SSD TO 2.5" Male IDE Adapter Converter For laptop" for $5.99 off of ebay.

Next, in order for the Bios (I'm running the latest T40 Bios -- 3.23 from July 2007) and the Embedded Controler (I'm running the latest version 3.04 from November 2004) to see the SSD drive you will need to remove the jumper (there's only one) from the above adapter.

Finally, I needed to make a small modification to the IDE drive bay (HDD 0) for the SATA drive and the above adapter to fit in. This involved removing the keyboard and the mouse pad to gain better access to the PATA IDE bay, bending up (and off) the metal portion of the slot, removing the top most portion of the plastic track that's inside the drive bay (the portion of the track that would be right underneath to the four direction arrows that are on the keyboard), inserting the above SATA->IDE adapter into the slot while prying back (but not breaking!) the plastic portion of the slot, and then connecting my new SATA SSD to the other side of the adapter (I probably could've done this last step once the laptop was completely reassembled, but it was much easier to do while I still had full access to the entire IDE drive bay.

At the end of all of this I now have a brand new, very fast SSD drive that sticks out about 3/4" from the original IDE drive bay. This is due to the length of the SATA-->IDE mini adapter. The SATA drive is fairly snug in the slot so I'm not worried about it slipping out. That said, I still secured it with a few well placed strips of electrical tape.

[Raceboy]

If you are not worried about warranty, you could open the SSD case and see if the PCB is smaller than whole 2.5" case. That way you can use SSD without case and have the drive not sticking out.

[Johan]

Welcome to the forum, Bob!

... and thanks for this interesting report!

If you wish to see how a SATA SSD can be mounted in e.g. a T40 or a T42, but entirely without having to modify anything (and this mounting hence so easy, that even your mother would be able to do it!), then I invite you to have a look in the sticky (at the top of this, the T4x forum) --> GUIDE: Make your T4x *FAST* by replacing the HDD with a SSD!! pointing to especially the threads 1.8" SATA to 2.5" IDE converter? and T42 SSD Conversion Success (1.8" SATA drive + bridge board).

Personally, I'd absolutely recommend using the eBay 1.8" microSATA to 44-pin 2.5” IDE adapter, discussed in the two above-mentioned threads (and note how insanely cheap this adapter is here!) and the --> tomatenfisch caddy... as this gives a both stable and easy solution for anyone who wants a FAST SSD in their PATA ThinkPad! You will find a (very!) detailled report about my own experience with this setup in this post.

Johan

[bob_pendleton]

Johan,

Thank you very much for that incredibly detailed guide in how to install an SSD in a T4x. And that tomatenfisch caddy is absolutely the perfect solution for doing the upgrade with a 1.8" SSD drive. In my case, with this particular T40, I only had an inexpensive 2.5" SSD on hand, I didn't want to lose the CD burner in my Ultrabay, and I didn't want to spend the extra $ on the Ultrabay adapter. So I guess I'll stick with the workaround that I already have in place, even if it means having the SSD drive sticking out like an old PCMCIA wireless card

I actually have another T40 in storage with a dead hard drive. If the 1.8" SSDs come down in price I might just consider reviving it the proper way.

Thanks again.

[GACrabill]

I actually have another T40 in storage with a dead hard drive. If the 1.8" SSDs come down in price I might just consider reviving it the proper way.

Just don't try to use an Intel X18-M gen.2 or gen.3 .... they won't work reliably.